In this Q&A edition of Space Nuts, hosts Andrew Dunkley and Professor Fred Watson dive into a series of intriguing listener questions that span topics from the nuances of orbital velocity to the enigmatic world of neutrinos and the complexities of time dilation. Join them as they unravel these cosmic queries with their signature blend of insight and humour.
Key topics
- Larry from Nebraska asks about the BepiColombo mission and the relationship between gravitational assists and orbital velocity, prompting a discussion on how spacecraft navigate the solar system.
- Eduardo explores the nature of neutrinos, questioning whether they are affected by gravity and whether they can be trapped by black holes.
- Shumo presents a thought-provoking idea about using high-energy gamma rays or neutrinos as interstellar beacons, leading to a discussion on the potential for advanced civilisations to communicate through unconventional means.
- Colin from Adelaide raises questions about time dilation effects as depicted in the science fiction movie "Project Hail Mary," specifically the implications of travelling close to the speed of light and the resulting age differences upon return to Earth.
Timestamps
00:00 - Introduction to the Q&A format and listener interactions
01:20 - Larry's question about BepiColombo and gravitational assists
10:30 - Eduardo's inquiry on neutrinos and black holes
18:45 - Shumo's question about interstellar beacons using gamma rays or neutrinos
26:00 - Colin's confusion about time dilation in "Project Hail Mary"
32:15 - Discussion on the implications of time dilation and relativity
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00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Professor Fred Watson: Hi there.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Andrew Dunkley: Thanks for joining us. This is Space Nuts, a
00:00:02 --> 00:00:04 Q and A edition, and we've got a bunch of
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 questions to get through. Uh, Larry wants to
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 know about orbital velocity and his question
00:00:10 --> 00:00:12 is quite timely because he brings up the
00:00:12 --> 00:00:15 BepiColombo mission. And we have an update
00:00:15 --> 00:00:18 on that. Uh, Eduardo is
00:00:18 --> 00:00:20 asking us about neutrinos. In fact, these
00:00:20 --> 00:00:23 last three questions dovetail into each
00:00:23 --> 00:00:25 other. So Eduardo about neutrinos. Uh,
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 Shumo is asking about interstellar beacons
00:00:28 --> 00:00:30 that might be powered by neutrinos.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:34 And, uh, Colin is asking about time
00:00:34 --> 00:00:37 dilation. So plenty to talk about on this Q
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 and A edition of Space nuts. Stick
00:00:40 --> 00:00:40 around.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 Professor Fred Watson: 15 seconds. Guidance is internal.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 10, 9.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 Ignition sequence start.
00:00:47 --> 00:00:48 Professor Fred Watson: Space nuts.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 Professor Fred Watson: 5, 4, 3. 2. 1, 2, 3, 4,
00:00:51 --> 00:00:53 5, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:00:53 --> 00:00:54 Andrew Dunkley: Space nuts.
00:00:54 --> 00:00:56 Professor Fred Watson: Astronauts report it feels good.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 Andrew Dunkley: And he's back again to, uh, solve all those
00:00:59 --> 00:01:01 riddles for us. It's Professor Fred Watson
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 Watson, astronomer at large. Hello, Fre.
00:01:04 --> 00:01:05 Professor Fred Watson: How are you doing, Andrew?
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 Andrew Dunkley: I'm doing well. You looking rather, um,
00:01:08 --> 00:01:08 um.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:09 Professor Fred Watson: Cold.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:13 Andrew Dunkley: Yes. Maybe. Yeah, we had
00:01:13 --> 00:01:15 a really good warm spell there for a while
00:01:15 --> 00:01:17 and then it just petered out and we're back
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 to some quite chilly weather. By
00:01:20 --> 00:01:22 the time this podcast comes out, it could be
00:01:22 --> 00:01:25 back to warm again. It's
00:01:25 --> 00:01:27 that time of year where we've got the tug of
00:01:27 --> 00:01:30 war between winter trying to hang on and
00:01:30 --> 00:01:32 spring trying to take over. And so,
00:01:33 --> 00:01:34 uh, you get a little warm snap and then it's
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 cold again and then you another warm snap and
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 then one day it just stays warm and then it
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 gets hot, hot, hot. And then the opposite
00:01:40 --> 00:01:43 happens going into autumn or fall or
00:01:43 --> 00:01:45 whatever, wherever you're from. And however
00:01:45 --> 00:01:47 you say it. But, um, yeah, right now we're
00:01:47 --> 00:01:50 into spring, uh, very windy
00:01:50 --> 00:01:52 weather this time of year out our way.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:54 Nothing to do with actual wind. It's just so
00:01:54 --> 00:01:56 many people sneezing. You just, you know,
00:01:57 --> 00:01:58 volatile environment.
00:01:59 --> 00:01:59 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:01 Professor Fred Watson: Ah, did you, um, you were going to try and
00:02:01 --> 00:02:03 get some shots of, uh, pollen?
00:02:04 --> 00:02:06 Andrew Dunkley: I did try and so far I've failed.
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 Professor Fred Watson: Okay.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:09 Andrew Dunkley: I haven't been, uh, but see, last time I got
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 the pollen, uh, corona photo, I was
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 using an older model phone and I've got
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 a feeling that the new phone
00:02:17 --> 00:02:19 compensates and actually stops me from
00:02:19 --> 00:02:20 getting the shot.
00:02:21 --> 00:02:22 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 Andrew Dunkley: Ah, but I'll give it another try. Uh, I might
00:02:24 --> 00:02:26 have been too early. Cause the best time is
00:02:26 --> 00:02:27 mid afternoon, isn't it?
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 Professor Fred Watson: Probably, yeah. Uh, you should be able to see
00:02:29 --> 00:02:30 it with the naked eye and that should tell
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 you what your, um, phone is likely
00:02:33 --> 00:02:34 to pick up.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 Andrew Dunkley: A good friend of mine once told me, though,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 never to look at the sun.
00:02:38 --> 00:02:41 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, indeed, I tell people that all the time.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:43 But that's why what you do is you get the sun
00:02:43 --> 00:02:45 behind a wall or a building or something,
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 just enough that you can see the immediate
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 sky around it and that's where you might see
00:02:50 --> 00:02:52 these colour bands. And just in case any of
00:02:52 --> 00:02:54 our listeners wonder what we're talking
00:02:54 --> 00:02:56 about, um, pollen, uh,
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 particles in the atmosphere. Because there
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 are many, many millions of them and they're
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 all of a uniform size, they have an effect on
00:03:03 --> 00:03:05 light called diffraction, uh, and that
00:03:06 --> 00:03:08 you can get coloured rings around the sun
00:03:08 --> 00:03:11 caused by the diffracting effect of these
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 pollen, uh, uh, particles. And that's
00:03:14 --> 00:03:15 what Andrew's looked for. I've seen them in
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 Coonabarabran on occasion when I used to live
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 out there. We tend not to see them in Sydney
00:03:20 --> 00:03:22 because the air is probably not
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 Andrew Dunkley: clear enough because there's more pollution
00:03:24 --> 00:03:24 in
00:03:24 --> 00:03:27 Professor Fred Watson: the air than pollens. Yes, there is. Pollen
00:03:27 --> 00:03:28 pollination.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, yeah. It's quite
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 spectacular though. Yes, I think
00:03:34 --> 00:03:36 we talked about it on an episode and I said,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 okay, um, challenge acceptance, and went
00:03:38 --> 00:03:40 outside, took one photo and got it.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:42 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, yes, that's right.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:45 Andrew Dunkley: Proving more difficult this time. Let's get
00:03:45 --> 00:03:46 into our questions.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:48 Uh, this first one comes from Larry.
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Professor Fred Watson: Hello, Fred Watson and Andrew.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 This is Larry from, um, York,
00:03:56 --> 00:03:57 Nebraska, that is.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:02 I've been listening to your podcast
00:04:03 --> 00:04:05 almost continually for months.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 Heard an old edition
00:04:10 --> 00:04:11 talking about
00:04:14 --> 00:04:14 Speaker D: using,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 Professor Fred Watson: uh, the gravitational boost
00:04:17 --> 00:04:18 around planets,
00:04:20 --> 00:04:22 particularly Pepe
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 Colombo. Fred Watson
00:04:25 --> 00:04:28 said that, uh, had to
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 use, uh, nine booths to get
00:04:31 --> 00:04:34 the BP Columbo spacecraft to
00:04:35 --> 00:04:37 speed up to the speed of
00:04:37 --> 00:04:40 Mercury. However, from
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 previous podcasts it seems
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 the more you speed up the orbital
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 velocity, the further away from the
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 sun you get. So don't you have to
00:04:51 --> 00:04:52 use the
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 gravitational wells to slow down
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 to get to Mercury? Because Mercury's
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 orbital velocity should be a whole lot less
00:05:02 --> 00:05:05 than Earth's. Thank you.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 Andrew Dunkley: Thank you, Larry. And, uh, hope all is well
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 in wonderful Nebraska. Um,
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 yeah, he brings up an interesting point. Uh,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 maybe we can discuss that after we break the
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 news about BepiColombo. The
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 BepiColombo mission to Mercury. And
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 we did talk about how it had to do,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:29 um, quite a bit of manoeuvring, um, to,
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 to achieve the velocity it required. You
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 might remind us about that, Fred Watson, and
00:05:33 --> 00:05:36 then tell us, um, what's happening now.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, yes, so, uh, BepiColombo,
00:05:39 --> 00:05:42 a joint, um, ESA,
00:05:42 --> 00:05:45 uh, JAXA mission, I think. Japanese
00:05:45 --> 00:05:48 Aerospace Exploration Agency.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 Um, eight years it's been on
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 its way so far and ah,
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 there have been nine, I think I'm right, nine
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 gravity assists, one of Earth, two of
00:06:00 --> 00:06:01 Venus and six of Mercury itself.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 Uh, and the reason why it's in the news at
00:06:05 --> 00:06:08 the moment is because um, the
00:06:08 --> 00:06:11 spacecraft has separated
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 from its um, something called
00:06:14 --> 00:06:17 the MTM M M which
00:06:17 --> 00:06:20 is the uh,
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 Mercury Transfer Module. In other
00:06:24 --> 00:06:26 words it's almost like a service module
00:06:26 --> 00:06:28 that's been uh, attached to the spacecraft.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:31 It's got solar panels, it's got you know,
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 various uh, um, uh,
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 feeds uh, on board for
00:06:36 --> 00:06:38 the requisites of the spacecraft itself
00:06:39 --> 00:06:41 that has now basically been jettisoned.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 Uh, and so BepiColombo is on its
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 own as it spirals
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 down towards the planet
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 Mercury to eventually go into orbit
00:06:53 --> 00:06:53 around Mercury.
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 Andrew Dunkley: And seeing they've now separated, uh, the
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 lawyers will be deciding who gets what
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 Professor Fred Watson: assets, who gets what. Yeah,
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 indeed, that's right. Um, but let's just
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 go to um, Larry's question. Uh,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 Larry's. You're
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 absolutely right. This is something
00:07:11 --> 00:07:14 I think it does all our heads in that
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 ah, if you've got a spacecraft in orbit
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 around something and you speed it up,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 what happens is it goes to a higher orbit but
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 it slows down that um,
00:07:28 --> 00:07:30 speed the bottom line. And the
00:07:30 --> 00:07:33 reverse is true with BepiColombo
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 going to Mercury. So um,
00:07:37 --> 00:07:39 remembering that the Earth's orbital velocity
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 around the sun
00:07:42 --> 00:07:44 is 30 kilometres per second,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 uh Mercury has an orbital
00:07:48 --> 00:07:51 velocity which is in the
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 region of 50 kilometres per second.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 M uh because it's nearer the sun it
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 needs a higher velocity to stop it from
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 falling into the so 50
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 kilometres per second is its speed. So in
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 that respect BepiColombo
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 is catching up uh in terms of
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 speed uh with Mercury.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 But to do that you slow it
00:08:16 --> 00:08:19 down, you have to shed the Earth's
00:08:19 --> 00:08:22 uh, orbital velocity to push the
00:08:22 --> 00:08:24 spacecraft in towards the sun which
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 speeds it up uh, so that it would be
00:08:27 --> 00:08:29 travelling faster than the Earth. If I can
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 put it that way. It's all about the balance
00:08:31 --> 00:08:34 between gravity and velocity.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 Uh, I'm probably not making this sound very
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 clear but the bottom line is that it's taken
00:08:38 --> 00:08:41 those uh, nine gravity assists to get
00:08:41 --> 00:08:44 from 30 kilometres per second going around
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 the Earth to roughly 50
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 kilometres per second average speed of
00:08:49 --> 00:08:52 Mercury. I think it gets significantly higher
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 and lower because Mercury's got quite an
00:08:53 --> 00:08:56 elliptical orbit. Um, believe Its maximum
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 is 59 kilometres per second when it's closest
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 to the sun. So you're talking about a
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 significant increase in velocity which
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 achieved by slowing the spacecraft down so it
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 falls in towards the Inner solar system. Does
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 that make sense?
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, I think we talked about, uh, when this
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 first came up, we talked about how much more
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 difficult it is to go towards the
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 centre of our solar system than it is to go
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 Professor Fred Watson: outwards in that regard. It is, that's
00:09:24 --> 00:09:24 correct, yes.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:25 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:27 Andrew Dunkley: So there's a lot of mathematicians, um,
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 at work trying to figure this one out.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 Um, um, you know, taking into account
00:09:33 --> 00:09:36 orbital mechanics, M and the, uh,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 everything that goes into it, uh, it's quite
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 an amazing feat, to be honest, to uh, to
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 come up with this. And yet you think a jump
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 of only 20 kilometres per second, 30 to 50,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 wouldn't. It doesn't sound all that
00:09:48 --> 00:09:50 difficult. But when you look at what they've
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 actually had to do to achieve it.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:52 Professor Fred Watson: That's right.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:53 Andrew Dunkley: Quite extraordinary.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:56 Professor Fred Watson: It is, it's, it's, it is a significant amount
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 when you think about it. You know, you're
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 like that 20 kilometres per second, uh,
00:10:03 --> 00:10:06 is, it's. I think it was about the
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 same orbital speed that, um, New Horizons
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 was launched at when it was one of the
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 fastest spacecraft ever launched. I think it
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 was 23 kilometres per second it had. So
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 it's a not insignificant jump in velocity.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 Andrew Dunkley: It just takes a lot of manoeuvring to make it
00:10:21 --> 00:10:21 happen.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 Professor Fred Watson: Indeed, yeah, that's right.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 Andrew Dunkley: There you go. Larry explained and still, um,
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 scratching my head.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 Thanks for the question. Um, this is Space
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 Nuts with Andrew Dunkley and Professor
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 Fred Watson Watson. It's a Q and A edition.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:39 Professor Fred Watson: I believe that this nation should commit
00:10:39 --> 00:10:42 Andrew Dunkley: itself to achieving the goal,
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 before this
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 Professor Fred Watson: decade is out, of landing a man
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 Professor Fred Watson: on the moon and returning him safely to the
00:10:48 --> 00:10:48 Earth.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Andrew Dunkley: These nuts. Now, next question comes from
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 Eduardo. I hope I'm pronouncing that
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 correctly. Um, he says, given
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 that neutrinos are the second most abundant
00:11:00 --> 00:11:03 subatopic particle, just after photons.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 Uh, but contrary to photons, they don't seem,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 seem to interact that much with matter. Do
00:11:09 --> 00:11:11 black holes swallow neutrinos
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 or do they just pass through them? Are
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 neutrinos affected by gravity at all?
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 Professor Fred Watson: Um, so yes, they are. Uh, and
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 I mean in the, you know, light is as. Well,
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 of course, light, that's the thing about a
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 black hole, um, uh, won't even
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 allow the release of light beyond the event
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 horizon. Uh, and the same is true
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 with neutrinos. So neutrinos,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 they can't pass through a black hole. Uh, if
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 they cross the event horizon, they're
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 trapped, uh, just like particles of
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 light. Uh, um,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:50 uh, it is a bit weird with
00:11:50 --> 00:11:53 neutrinos because they Exactly. Um, as
00:11:53 --> 00:11:56 Eduardo says, they pass through normal matter
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 very easily. They don't interact much with
00:11:58 --> 00:12:01 normal matter. Uh, but nevertheless
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 gravity and the curvature of space time,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 which is really what we're talking about with
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 a black. Black hole, uh, they affect them
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 just the same as everything else.
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 Speaker D: Hmm.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 Andrew Dunkley: Simple as that. It wouldn't be too much. That
00:12:12 --> 00:12:14 would not be affected by gravity.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's right. Uh, we think dark
00:12:18 --> 00:12:20 matter is too. Well, we know dark matter is.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 That's the only way we know it exists. So.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:23 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, well, it seems to clump in higher
00:12:24 --> 00:12:26 gravitational fields, doesn't it?
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 Professor Fred Watson: That's correct, yes.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 Andrew Dunkley: Um, even though we don't really understand
00:12:29 --> 00:12:31 it, although we do think they may have
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 identified it recently. Uh, I think we talked
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 about that last episode. So, um,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 yeah, we're slowly chipping away at the
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 mystery of dark matter, hopefully. So
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 he said that, um, neutrinos are the second
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 most abundant subatopic particle. Is that
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 right?
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 Professor Fred Watson: Um, I'd need to cheque that, but I think it's
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 probably right. Yes. Uh,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 I think that's ah, a correct statement.
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 Andrew Dunkley: Do we know what they're supposed to do?
00:12:58 --> 00:12:59 What's their function?
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 Professor Fred Watson: Well, yeah, they're um, byproduct
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 of, uh, nuclear reactions.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:09 And they are prolific, as
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 Eduardo suggested. So, um,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:14 with um, for example, the nuclear reactions
00:13:14 --> 00:13:17 that power the sun, uh, the
00:13:17 --> 00:13:20 um, what's it called, the fusion
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 reactions, uh, it's got a name.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 Proton. Proton reaction. There's several
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 different ones anyway. They not only
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 produce, uh, helium from hydrogen,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:32 uh, but the energy that they produce, uh, is
00:13:32 --> 00:13:35 in gamma rays and in neutrinos as well.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:36 Professor Fred Watson: There you, um, go.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 Andrew Dunkley: Fascinating.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 Um, Eduardo, that's um, about all we can tell
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 you about that, but thanks for the question.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 Lovely to hear from you. We're whipping m
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 through them, Fred Watson. We are.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 Uh, this is Space Nuts, a Q and A edition
00:13:50 --> 00:13:52 with Andrew Nunkley and Professor Fred Watson
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 Watson.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 Professor Fred Watson: Three, two, one.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Andrew Dunkley: Space Nuts. Uh, our next question
00:14:02 --> 00:14:04 comes from Shumo, who says. Hi, Fred Watson
00:14:04 --> 00:14:07 and Andrew. Another alien communication
00:14:07 --> 00:14:10 question. SETI understandably concentrates on
00:14:10 --> 00:14:13 radio and optical signals, but are we being
00:14:13 --> 00:14:15 too anthropo. I can't
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 say it. Anthropocentric
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 about the carrier. Couldn't, uh, advanced
00:14:21 --> 00:14:24 civilization use high energy gamma rays or
00:14:24 --> 00:14:27 even neutrinos as an interstellar beacon,
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 encoding information in the timing or energy
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 of individual event. Example, repeated gamma
00:14:33 --> 00:14:36 ray or neutrino events from the same point
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 in the sky following the prime numbers would
00:14:38 --> 00:14:41 be very difficult to explain. Naturally,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 given that, uh, uh, we
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 already have gamma ray and neutrino
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 observatories watching the sky. Has anyone
00:14:48 --> 00:14:50 systematically searched their data for
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 mathematically structured patterns that might
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 be artificial? That comes from Shumo in
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 Oxford in the uk. That's a really good
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 question. Like that's out of the box. Isn't.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 Professor Fred Watson: Um, is a good question. And
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 in a way, um, the answer lies in
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 the fact that uh, when gamma ray bursts
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 were first detected, uh, which you'll
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 remember were detected by spacecraft
00:15:16 --> 00:15:18 satellites that had been launched
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 specifically to look for evidence of breaches
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the
00:15:23 --> 00:15:26 Atmospheric Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. That's
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 what they were built for. They didn't see any
00:15:28 --> 00:15:31 nuclear tests, but uh, they
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 saw these things coming from the sky, uh,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:36 bursts of radiation. So the first thing you
00:15:36 --> 00:15:38 think of when you see something like that is,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 is this a SETI signal,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 uh, or something artificial now,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 um, with gamma rays and indeed neutrino,
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 uh, radiation. I guess
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 you would tend to put that,
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 to put an artificial origin fairly
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 low on the list of, of candidate,
00:15:58 --> 00:16:01 um, reasons why these things are flying
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 through space. Because they're very, very
00:16:04 --> 00:16:07 high, energetic, high energy, um,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 carriers. Uh, we're talking about a high
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 energy universe here. Having um,
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 said that, I recently wrote the
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 foreword for a book by a group of
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 colleagues at the Western Sydney University,
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 which is called High Energy
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 Astrobiology. Uh, and there you
00:16:26 --> 00:16:29 have it. The link between high energy
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 physics phenomena and the science
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 of the origin and evolution of life.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 Uh, and so I can't remember actually the
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 details of the chapters. Um, uh, I
00:16:41 --> 00:16:43 do have a copy of the book which I looked
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 through and enjoyed reading. Um,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 but uh, I can't remember the details. But
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 um, I wouldn't mind betting that somewhere in
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 there somebody is basically
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 highlighting essentially the same question
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 that Schumach has raised here.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:01 So.
00:17:01 --> 00:17:03 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, I imagine so. But
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 surely there'd be easier ways to send a
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 message if you were.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, rather than blowing up a planet or
00:17:09 --> 00:17:11 something like that, which is, you know, the
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 kind of energies that we're talking about
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 here. Yes.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:16 Andrew Dunkley: No, it kind of worked for. Ah, the Empire
00:17:16 --> 00:17:16 didn't.
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 Professor Fred Watson: Depends on whose side you're on really.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Andrew Dunkley: Yes, but,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 um. Would lasers be feasible over, um,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 parsecs?
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah, they are. I mean, and so. Yes. But you
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 know, in that regard I, uh, guess, um.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 Uh, you know, Shuma's already raised
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 the issue that um, we've got,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:44 uh, the idea of optical communications
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 as part and parcel of our
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 retinue of researchers,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:52 uh, when it comes to possible
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 SETI signals. Um,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 and exactly as
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 Schumacher says, uh, SETI understandably
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 concentrates on radio and optical signals.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 And yeah, that's why, because they're going
00:18:04 --> 00:18:07 to be the easiest to produce. Very much so.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 Optical signals I think have been neglected a
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 bit in comparison with radio signals.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 But that is coming to an end because,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 uh, the latest instruments
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 that we have, looking at the optical sky,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:24 optical and near infrared sky, and I'm
00:18:24 --> 00:18:27 thinking particularly of the Vera C. Rubin
00:18:27 --> 00:18:29 Observatory. Now it finds transient
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 events, uh, millions per
00:18:32 --> 00:18:35 night. By transient events, I mean things
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 that come and go in the dark. And of course
00:18:37 --> 00:18:40 communication signals would fall into that
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 category.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 Speaker D: Yeah.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 Andrew Dunkley: When I was doing the research for my
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 new sci fi trilogy, um,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 the first book in the series is called the
00:18:50 --> 00:18:52 Signal. And I did
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 quite um, a bit of research on what
00:18:56 --> 00:18:58 signal would be likely to be received
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 on Earth by an alien intelligence.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 And it basically came down to the signals
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 we use every day on our own planet. The
00:19:07 --> 00:19:09 signals in the hydrogen line,
00:19:10 --> 00:19:13 1.4 to, to 1.66
00:19:13 --> 00:19:16 gigahertz, um, 14, 20 megahertz
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 range that AM radio
00:19:18 --> 00:19:21 frequencies basically, um, more or less. Uh,
00:19:21 --> 00:19:24 so that's what I based it on.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:26 Um, but
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 that's more likely to be the kind of
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 signal that would be sent by a communicative
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 intelligence beyond Earth. And
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 that's where the Drake equation comes in.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 Um, I think they're based on an
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 intelligence that is capable of
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 communication.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 Professor Fred Watson: And you're absolutely right.
00:19:49 --> 00:19:51 Right from the beginning of what you might
00:19:51 --> 00:19:54 call the SETI era, looking for
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 extraterrestrial intelligence. That
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 hydrogen line that you've spoken of, 21
00:19:59 --> 00:20:01 centimetre line, to put it in wavelengths
00:20:01 --> 00:20:03 rather than frequency, um,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:06 is what cold hydrogen emits.
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 So it's the most prolific
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 Professor Fred Watson: spectral uh,
00:20:11 --> 00:20:13 Professor Fred Watson: line in the whole universe
00:20:14 --> 00:20:16 of any uh, frequency band.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 And so um, it is naturally where you would
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 start thinking about broadcasting if you are
00:20:22 --> 00:20:25 trying to send a signal out, uh, to
00:20:25 --> 00:20:28 another intelligence, which
00:20:28 --> 00:20:31 that's a whole, I guess the whole um,
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 proposition of SETI that uh, the
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 intelligent species out there might want to
00:20:37 --> 00:20:39 communicate. And how they're going to do it.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 Well, they're going to use the spectral line
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 that we're looking for anyway because that's
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 something we're using to m. Map the universe.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 Speaker D: Yeah.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 Andrew Dunkley: Was the wow. Signal in that frequency range?
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 Professor Fred Watson: I think I, uh, think it was, yes. Yeah, I
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 think it was.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:53 Andrew Dunkley: And that, that came from the um,
00:20:54 --> 00:20:57 Sagittarius constellation region of
00:20:57 --> 00:21:00 spaces. Because I researched that as well
00:21:01 --> 00:21:04 off the top of my head. Um, they
00:21:04 --> 00:21:06 have actually studied that part of the
00:21:06 --> 00:21:08 universe and they at this moment cannot find
00:21:08 --> 00:21:11 anything to suggest that it was an artificial
00:21:11 --> 00:21:14 uh, signal. But
00:21:14 --> 00:21:16 they still haven't figured that one out, have
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 they?
00:21:16 --> 00:21:19 Professor Fred Watson: No, there have been a few ideas like radio,
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 uh, emission from comets. That was one. Uh.
00:21:21 --> 00:21:23 Cause I think there were comets in the sky at
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 the time. But yeah,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:28 it's still an open question.
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, I guess so. All right, um, that's
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 a great question. Thanks uh, Shumo, for
00:21:34 --> 00:21:37 sending it in. Um, but uh, yeah, there's
00:21:37 --> 00:21:40 probably easier ways to do things and uh, if
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 you're going to send a signal to an
00:21:42 --> 00:21:45 alien civilization, you probably want them to
00:21:45 --> 00:21:48 be able to figure it out rather
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 than send them something complex and they go,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:53 no, no, I don't know what that was. Um, let's
00:21:53 --> 00:21:56 go to our final question from Colin.
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 Speaker D: Hello, Andrew and Fred Watson.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:00 Colin from Adelaide. I love the
00:22:00 --> 00:22:03 science fiction movie project Hail Mary,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:06 which I've seen twice. But I'm still quite
00:22:06 --> 00:22:09 confused about the time dilation effects. In
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 the movie. RYLAND Grace travels
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 12 light years to his destination
00:22:15 --> 00:22:18 at ah, Tau Ceti in four years
00:22:18 --> 00:22:20 and eight months. How can this be? The
00:22:20 --> 00:22:23 Beatles powered by the astrophage
00:22:23 --> 00:22:26 fuel carrying Tau Moeba, the
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 solution to the astrophage problem with
00:22:29 --> 00:22:32 the sun reach Earth even quicker than.
00:22:32 --> 00:22:35 Than this. How can that be? And lastly,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:38 if Ryan Grace had returned
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41 to Earth, how much younger would he be
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 than those he left behind? Very confusing.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:46 I hope you can help. Thank you. Love the
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 podcast.
00:22:48 --> 00:22:51 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, thanks, Colin. Um, I've seen the movie
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 a couple of times myself and I've got to
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 confess that I'm as confused as Colin
00:22:56 --> 00:22:59 in regard to the distances travelled and how
00:22:59 --> 00:23:02 fast they achieved it. Even though they came
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 up with a new drive concept that
00:23:05 --> 00:23:08 um, even that I had trouble getting
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 my head around, they, they did explain it and
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 I just sat there sort of glazed look on
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 my, on my face. Um, because it
00:23:16 --> 00:23:18 was uh, it was very cleverly done.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 But I don't know how they did it.
00:23:22 --> 00:23:25 Someone else might be able to explain uh, it
00:23:25 --> 00:23:28 to me. Um, I suppose we
00:23:28 --> 00:23:31 can tackle the question in two ways. My
00:23:31 --> 00:23:33 answer, Colin, is it's science fiction. You
00:23:33 --> 00:23:36 can do whatever you damn would like. Um,
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 but that's just, that's the, that's a very
00:23:38 --> 00:23:41 simplistic answer. Um, when I
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 write my science fiction novels, I
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 want at least some of it to be as
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 believable as possible. And so
00:23:50 --> 00:23:52 I'm, I'm in your boat. I want to know how
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 they did it. Um, the
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 other, yeah, the other side of it is,
00:23:57 --> 00:24:00 um, that we should
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 explain time dilation and
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 see where that falls within the parameters of
00:24:05 --> 00:24:08 the film. You haven't seen it, Fred Watson,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 have you? Oh, you have? What did you Think.
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 Professor Fred Watson: Um, so, uh. Well, I was hoping you'd have the
00:24:12 --> 00:24:15 answer to this question. Not like, because I
00:24:15 --> 00:24:18 did watch it. I watched it on a flight from,
00:24:19 --> 00:24:22 a flight from Sydney to Paris,
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 um, which uh, gave
00:24:26 --> 00:24:29 me enough time to watch the movie uh,
00:24:30 --> 00:24:32 thoroughly but still,
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 I was still vaguely half asleep at the time.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:38 So um, and look, so I can't,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:41 I'm, I can't comment on those um, those uh,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:44 values uh, that um, that uh, Colin's
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 given us. But.
00:24:45 --> 00:24:47 Andrew Dunkley: Well I, I got it. I've just done a quick
00:24:47 --> 00:24:50 search and. Okay, so the, the destination
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 for our hero of the movie uh,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:56 was the star system Tau Ceti which was,
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 is 11.9 light years from
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 Earth. To get there.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 Um, the spacecraft was
00:25:04 --> 00:25:07 powered by a microorganism called
00:25:07 --> 00:25:10 Astrophage that converts mass into pure
00:25:10 --> 00:25:13 energy and that enabled
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 the constant acceleration of
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 1.5 g for the first half of the trip
00:25:18 --> 00:25:21 and then it flips and decelerates at 1.5 g
00:25:21 --> 00:25:23 for the second half of the trip. Its peak
00:25:23 --> 00:25:25 velocity was roughly
00:25:25 --> 00:25:28 92% the speed of light. Okay.
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 If that's the case, travelling
00:25:31 --> 00:25:34 11.9 light years would take
00:25:34 --> 00:25:37 longer than 11.9 years and
00:25:37 --> 00:25:40 he got there in, I think it was
00:25:40 --> 00:25:43 four years. Uh, uh, that's why
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 Colin's confused.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47 Professor Fred Watson: Well, I mean time dilation only works.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 Andrew Dunkley: Yes.
00:25:48 --> 00:25:51 Professor Fred Watson: When you're talking about two separate frames
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 of reference.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:55 Andrew Dunkley: Well, it's 11.9 light years if
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 you're staying on Earth.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 Professor Fred Watson: Yes.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 Andrew Dunkley: When you're travelling it's a different
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 kettle of fish.
00:26:00 --> 00:26:03 Professor Fred Watson: Yes, that's correct. Um, and so the
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 time dilation, the time basically
00:26:06 --> 00:26:09 slows down for you as you're travelling
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 relative to the person back on Earth.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:15 Uh, and so that seems to make sense from
00:26:15 --> 00:26:18 what you were saying that um, the experience
00:26:19 --> 00:26:21 of the astronaut is one
00:26:22 --> 00:26:24 of, in terms of Earth, time is a
00:26:24 --> 00:26:26 shorter time even though as far as the clocks
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 are concerned they're still ticking at the
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 same speed for the person who's travelling.
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah. And I uh, must confess that
00:26:33 --> 00:26:35 in doing my research for the book that's
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 um, the target star that
00:26:38 --> 00:26:41 shall remain nameless in my storey. Otherwise
00:26:41 --> 00:26:43 it gets too predictable.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 Professor Fred Watson: Um,
00:26:47 --> 00:26:49 Andrew Dunkley: was a certain distance from Earth
00:26:50 --> 00:26:53 as the crow flies or as the photons
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 fly, but in travelling there
00:26:56 --> 00:26:59 in a, in a capable vessel,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 um, the, the time to get
00:27:02 --> 00:27:05 there was cut. Right. Quite dramatically
00:27:05 --> 00:27:08 but in doing so you didn't age,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:11 but everybody back on Earth did still age
00:27:11 --> 00:27:14 the so many light years. Uh,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:16 and, and that's the quandary, isn't it?
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 Professor Fred Watson: It's um.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 Professor Fred Watson: Well, yes, the Twins paradox, basically.
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 Andrew Dunkley: Exactly.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 Speaker D: Yeah. Yeah.
00:27:21 --> 00:27:24 Andrew Dunkley: So, um, it is a thing and it.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:28 Yeah, the. The traveller doesn't,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 um, take that amount of time to get there
00:27:30 --> 00:27:33 because of the fact that they're
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 moving through space at a. At a high
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 velocity. And, um.
00:27:39 --> 00:27:42 Yeah, I really
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 struggle to explain this stuff.
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 Professor Fred Watson: Well, you should. Yeah. The calculation's
00:27:46 --> 00:27:49 easy. Uh, for time dilation, I've seen
00:27:49 --> 00:27:52 it. 1 over the square root of 1 minus
00:27:52 --> 00:27:54 V squared over C squared. You could do that
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 in your head, Andrew.
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, I actually had it written down.
00:27:58 --> 00:28:01 I did have it written down. Yeah. That's the
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 one. Um, but, yeah, I don't have to.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 Professor Fred Watson: Nearly everything in special relativity has
00:28:06 --> 00:28:09 this terminate of 1 over the square root
00:28:09 --> 00:28:12 of 1 minus V squared over C squared. It pops
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 up everywhere. Time dilation, Lorentz
00:28:14 --> 00:28:17 contraction, all of those things. It's the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 same factor.
00:28:19 --> 00:28:22 Andrew Dunkley: Suggest to Colin, um, if he wants to read the
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 Human Epoch, Part one, uh,
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 there is an explanation of it in there.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:30 Professor Fred Watson: This is your trilogy. Yes, part one
00:28:30 --> 00:28:32 of the trilogy. I think that's what you
00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 probably should do, Colin. Uh, and then you
00:28:35 --> 00:28:37 can bug Andrew about it.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 Andrew Dunkley: Well, I've already had a few people come to
00:28:40 --> 00:28:43 me and say, hang on a minute, hang on
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 a minute. How did you figure that out?
00:28:45 --> 00:28:48 Professor Fred Watson: As you say, you're a science fiction writer.
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 You can say whatever you want.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 Andrew Dunkley: But I like. I like to get things right, so.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:54 Professor Fred Watson: Uh. Yeah, well, you should. That's right.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:58 Andrew Dunkley: All right. Uh, Colin, that's a fun question.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 And it is a really great film. If.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:03 If you haven't seen it. It's still one of the
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 top picks on some of those, um, streaming
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 platforms. Because it's, uh. It's such a.
00:29:07 --> 00:29:10 It's almost a delightful film in. In some
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 ways.
00:29:11 --> 00:29:13 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah. I thought it was a comedy, actually.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, it bordered on that.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 Speaker D: That.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 Speaker D: Yeah.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:19 Andrew Dunkley: And it sort of. It sort of had a little
00:29:19 --> 00:29:21 bit of the Muppet show in it at times,
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 but. But it really was a great storey. I
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 loved it.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:25 Professor Fred Watson: Yeah.
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 Andrew Dunkley: Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Colin. Great to hear from
00:29:27 --> 00:29:29 you. Thanks to everyone who sent us
00:29:29 --> 00:29:31 questions. Don't forget you can do the same
00:29:31 --> 00:29:34 via our website, space nutspodcast.com space
00:29:34 --> 00:29:37 nuts IO and just click
00:29:37 --> 00:29:39 on the Ask Me Anything tab at the top. And
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 don't forget to tell us who you are and where
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 you're from. And have a look around while
00:29:41 --> 00:29:43 you're there. And don't forget to leave
00:29:43 --> 00:29:46 reviews wherever you listen or watch us. Um,
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 they help. Don't know who they help. I don't
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 know why they help, but apparently they help.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:53 Uh, unless they're not good reviews, then
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 they don't help. See,
00:29:56 --> 00:29:59 that's, you know, that's harder to
00:29:59 --> 00:30:02 explain than time dilation. Uh, and thank,
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 uh, you, Fred Watson, for your help today.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 Couldn't have done it without you.
00:30:05 --> 00:30:07 Professor Fred Watson: Uh, I don't think I could have done it
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 without you either, Andrew. So there you go.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:12 Just as well we're here. You're welcome. And
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 we'll talk again soon.
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 Andrew Dunkley: We will. Professor Fred Watson Watson,
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 astronomer at large, and thanks to Huw in the
00:30:16 --> 00:30:19 studio. Couldn't be here due to an issue with
00:30:19 --> 00:30:21 time dilation, but we're expecting him in the
00:30:21 --> 00:30:24 year 2154. And from me, Andrew
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 Dunkley. Thanks for your company. We'll see
00:30:26 --> 00:30:28 you on the next episode of Space Nuts. Bye
00:30:28 --> 00:30:30 Bye. Oh, hang on. Bye Bye.
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